Most of the women commuters attempt to downplay such incidents and do not report them due to patriarchal socio-cultural patterns that complaints will not be acted on, stated a report titled ‘Women's Safety Audit in Public Transport in Lahore’ conducted by Aurat Foundation.

The study was conducted by Aurat Foundation and co-led by the Women’s Development Department (WDD) Punjab and UN Women, in collaboration with the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), the Chief Minister’s Strategic Reform Unit and the Punjab Safe City Project (PSCP).

According to the report, the most common types of sexual harassment at bus stops include staring, stalking, obscene gestures, whistling, passing sexual comments, and touching.

The study assessed the safety concerns of women and girls using public transport in Lahore.

Focusing on the bus services provided by the Lahore Transport Company (LTC) and Metro Bus, it includes a detailed desk review, a perception study with 903 women commuters and 100 bus drivers and conductors, key informant interviews, safety walk evaluations at selected bus stops, and focus group discussions.

The data reveals an alarming situation regarding the safety of women on public transport .

According to the research, finding a situation contributing to existing restrictions on women’s mobility, limiting their opportunities to engage in economic activity, education and other aspects of a fulfilled life.

The perpetrators are primarily fellow passengers and 62 percent of women state that they have been harassed by fellow passengers; this perception is confirmed by all Metro bus drivers and 97 percent of LTC bus drivers and conductors.

Women also report being harassed by bus staff and passerbys. But both women and girls take limited action when they are harassed on public transport and 98 percent of respondents are unaware of existing emergency helplines or mobile phone apps to report sexual harassment.

About 94.8 percent of women are unaware of such laws and 99 percent have no knowledge of Pakistan Penal Code Section 509, which deals specifically with sexual harassment. Similarly, 92 percent of LTC bus drivers and conductors are unaware of pro-women laws.